SHSU faces key game at HBU Saturday afternoon
2/13/2015 11:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Sam Houston State and Houston Baptist battle Saturday at 4 p.m. in a women's basketball game with important implications on both teams' hopes of being among the eight teams competing in the Southland Conference Tournament in Katy March 11-14.
The Bearkats, who own a 5-7 league mark, currently stand in eighth position in the league standings. Houston Baptist (3-9) and Southeastern Louisiana (3-8) are the only two teams below Sam Houston with the chance to knock the SHSU women out.
A Sam Houston win at Sharp Gym in Houston Saturday could give the Kats a three-game lead over the Huskies and the Lions. Combined with the Bearkats' 74-67 win over HBU in Huntsville January 31, a win Saturday also would give the SHSU women the tiebreaker over Houston Baptist.
Guards Shernise Robertson and Taylor Dorsey continue to be the Kats' scoring leaders with averages of 18.7 and 12.9 points per game, respectively.
Sam Houston's victory over the Huskies in Huntsville featured a strong comeback effort. After trailing at halftime 36-25 and down 44-28 with 16:21 to play, the Kats outscored HBU 46-23 for the victory.
After winning three of their four games between January 22 and 31 (including a 65-64 upset of preseason league favorite Stephen F. Austin), the Bearkats have struggled in their last two appearances.
Sam Houston lost to A&M-Corpus Christi 63-50 Saturday and Abilene Christian 63-48 Thursday. Shooting woes and turnovers were a factor in both losses.
The Bearkats did not have a Southland game shooting below 42 per cent from the field in their first 10 league contests. But the SHSU women hit only 32.1 percent from the field in the A&M-Corpus Christi loss and 34.8 against ACU Thursday. Sam Houston has committed a combined 45 turnovers in the past two losses with the Kats' opponents scoring 48 points off those miscues.
In the Bearkats' win over Houston Baptist in Huntsville, Sam Houston shot 42.2 percent from the floor and committed only nine turnovers.
Houston Baptist also enters Saturday's contest with a two-game losing streak. Both losses came on the road to the first and second place teams in the league. HBU lost 79-62 Thursday at Lamar and 72-67 Saturday at Stephen F. Austin.
The Huskies are led by Tayler Jefferson and Rachel Arthur who both are averaging 10.0 points per game.
